President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has met with Parliamentary Vice- Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan Manabu Horii.

Vice-Minister Manabu Horii underlined the importance of the signing of a new contract on the development of Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli fields in Baku, and congratulated the Azerbaijani President on this occasion.

He extended his congratulations to President Ilham Aliyev on the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and Japan.

Saying that Azerbaijan, the leading state in the region, has gained good reputation in the world, Manabu Horii underlined Japan's keenness to expand cooperation with Azerbaijan in all areas. He hailed the recent beneficial reciprocal visits between the two countries, saying these visits featured fruitful talks on investment making in a variety of fields. He noted that Japan plans to simplify visa regime with Azerbaijan in order to ensure rapid development of bilateral relations.

President Ilham Aliyev extended his congratulations to the Japanese top official on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries, and hailed Japan's high-level representation in the signing ceremony.

The head of state emphasized that Japan has always provided financial support to projects implemented in Azerbaijan, hailing the Japanese government's allocating loans for the creation of modern infrastructure in the country.

Pointing out the successful cooperation between the two countries in the energy sector, President Ilham Aliyev underlined that the Japanese companies have been actively involved in the development of oil and gas fields in Azerbaijan for many years and making significant contributions to the development of bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

The head of state emphasized the importance of expanding mutual trade relations. Apart from the energy sector, he highlighted the importance of cooperation in industry, in free trade zone, as well as mutual investment in pharmaceutical industry, agriculture, tea growing industry and petrochemistry.